Spotlight: Laura Austin

While we’re still hard at work developing fotoClient, we’ve also still taken some time to talk to another member of our awesome community. We’ve been amazed by all the photographers who have come alongside fotoClient. Today we’re excited to feature Laura Austin, who has worked with major brands including Nike, Herschel Supply Co., Burton, ESPN and more.

Can you share with us a little about your creative background?

I worked as the Online Editor for Snowboarder Magazine for two years. It was an amazing experience but eventually I decided to move on and take a shot at being a full-time freelance photographer. Growing up in the mountains, snowboarding was definitely my first love. But after a while, realizing I didn’t want to be a rider professionally, I ended up shooting photos of my friends who were pursuing careers as professional snowboarders. Photography ended up growing on me and now I am where I am.

You’ve worked with some awesome brands like Nike, Herschel, Burton, ESPN and many others. What was your first big “break” in the photography world?

It’s hard to attribute my success to any one moment. My job at Snowboarder Magazine really gave me a platform to show I was capable of shooting photos since I was constantly traveling, writing, and taking pictures to go along with my stories. From there, one thing led to another and I started to be known mostly for my photography.

We understand that you travel a lot. Was that something you always did or was that just something you fell in love with on your own during your career as a photographer?

Travel is incredibly important to me, and a big part of why I wanted to pursue photography, knowing that if I played my cards right, it would give me the ability to travel the world. I was fortune as a kid to have a very adventurous dad. We would go on one big trip about every year, and he opened my eyes to the world and how to go about seeing it. His wanderlust wore off on me.

How would you describe your visual style and how you approach each project?

I guess you could say I’m a storyteller with my photography. With my background in journalism, creating a storyline for what I’m shooting comes naturally to me. I really like to make everything feel attainable and inviting, like someone could be standing in that scenario right next to me, seeing things the way I see them.

The scenarios I get most excited about are when I have people in a vast landscape. I prefer shooting landscapes with people in them, normally a single subject, because it shows scale and attainability. I want to show it isn’t just some far off place that always takes a ton of effort to get to, but encourage people to go see these places for themselves.

From who, what or where do you draw your inspiration? Or do you prefer to simply capture whatever strikes you in the moment?

I tend to approach photography more as a fly on the wall. I like just going places with people and seeing what we can make of the situation. So a lot of it is about what strikes me in the moment. But of course there are things that inspire me on top of that–mostly the work and passion of my peers.

What about fotoClient are you excited to try out or leverage for your business?

I’m mostly excited about it helping me stay organized. With the amount of traveling I do, it’s easy to let opportunities slip through my fingers at times. So it will be nice to have fotoClient helping me keep everything organized and in one place.

The fotoClient team wishes to express their deepest gratitude to Laura for letting us share share her story with the rest of the community. Connect with Laura: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter